What do you get the athlete who has everything? How about a victory in the
London Marathon, and a world record in the 1500 metres?

If that sounds a stretch, both of distance and imagination, then try telling that to Mo Farah who, after he makes his debut over 26.2 miles in his home city next April, could challenge Hicham El Guerrouj’s 15-year-old world mark of 3 min 26.00 sec.

It may sound audacious, but Farah genuinely believes that a 1500m world record is more achievable than in his specialist 5,000m and 10,000m distances, despite his stunning achievement in completing the Olympic and world double-double on Friday night.

Without training seriously for the shorter distance, he turned up at the Monaco Diamond League meeting last month for a speed-training exercise and walked away with Steve Cram’s 28-year-old British 1500m record, the European record and the distinction of being the sixth-fastest 1500m runner in history.

By comparison, he is ranked 31st on the all-time list for 5,000m and 15th in the 10,000m. Not great numbers for the world’s greatest distance runner of his generation and only the second athlete to achieve the 10,000 and 5,000 double in successive years at an Olympic Games and a World Championships.

“I’m closer in the 1500 than anything else,” said Farah, who admits he was stunned by his Monaco time of 3-28.81. “I honestly think it’s closer.”

It was so impossibly quick that one has to wonder whether Farah has done the right thing in committing himself to the London Marathon next spring rather than trying to prolong his all-conquering purple patch on the track.

But, with no major championship to aim for next year other than the Commonwealth Games and the Europeans, Farah is excited about the challenge of a new distance and the chance to step off the racing treadmill for six months to prepare his body for the physical trial ahead.

“It’s that year when you can play around with things,” he said. “Doing the marathon in April, it’s still quite a long time before the summer so I can look towards the end of the season and say, ‘here are the things I want to hit’.

“It would be nice to do that. When you’re an athlete, when you don’t have championships, it’s nice to take six months to train for an event and see what you can do. I’ve never done that. It’s also been championship, then another race, then another race.”

But there is no question that his flirtation with the marathon will be brief, however well he copes, and that the track will be his focus in the years leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

According to his American coach Alberto Salazar, who won three successive New York Marathons from 1980 to 1982, if Farah struggles with the distance, then London could well be his last marathon because attempting another could have a negative impact on his track performances.

If, on the other hand, Farah runs well and maybe even wins on his debut, then that would give Salazar enough information to know that the Briton would be capable of running it in Rio if necessary. Attempting another marathon before then would serve no purpose.

The strategy for the Rio Games will be left until nearer the time. If Farah is still in the shape he is now, then doubling up again in the 5,000m and 10,000m is a possibility. But if Farah’s fearsome kick is diminished by then, a 10,000m-marathon double could be on the cards, as long as he passes his London audition.

While arguments rage over Farah’s position in the pantheon of long-distance greats, the Londoner is in the wonderful position of having several more years in which to expand his collection of titles. But many experts, Paula Radcliffe included, believe that as well as medals, Farah should now focus on breaking a world record or two to cement his place in history.

Her own career shows that running a marathon can improve an athlete’s track times, and she says she would love to see him attack the clock next summer.

Brendan Foster also believes a world record is the only thing missing from the Farah CV, but has another challenge for the 30-year-old: to do a double-Bannister by running back-to-back four-minute miles in 2014, 60 years after Sir Roger’s epic breakthrough.

“What I’d love to see most in Britain next year is for Mo Farah to run in front of the British public and run a two-mile race and run each mile in under four minutes,” said Foster. “This is a country where the mile is significant. I want to hear people saying, ‘My grandad talks about the four-minute mile and I’ve just seen Mo Farah run two of them’.”

Mo’s top targets

2014

April London Marathon Farah completed half of this year’s race and will be looking to prove himself over the full distance.

July-August Commonwealth Games in Glasgow Farah might decide instead to devote his energies to beating Hicham El Guerrouj’s 15-year-old world mark of 3 min 26 sec for the 1500 metres.

August European Championships He might skip this because of his hectic schedule.

2016 Rio Olympics Temptation is to try to retain his 5,000m and 10,000m titles, but he could opt for the 10,000m and marathon.